Time will tell
by Outcast of Reality
Summary: Nearly 800 years in the future, Chrno lives on. So many years since her death, but he can't forget. Not now, not ever. This is the story of his life, and his search.
1. Prologue

My first CC fic! Wish me luck…

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I hate time.

Time dictates everything we do. It is the tyrant, the oppressive force, and we can't do anything about it. It eats at our existence, and leaves us saturated in sorrow. I would do anything for there to be no time at all, for me to just be. But I would do just as much to defeat my own immunity to time, to die with the dead, come my turn. But I will never. Life is a game, and I'm in the stands.

I know I'm selfish, but I feel almost like time is eating at my soul, too, even though I will never know how that really feels. Day by day, I feel weaker. Up in my mind, there's less and less that I can, that I will do. I don't travel anymore. I don't have the energy left to go around helping people, saving lives, like I did back then. I don't have a soul anymore… but I'm not foolish enough to steal somebody else's. That's happened too many times before.

No more. I can't stand those times, when the best moments of my live are ripped from me, along with the one person I would die for. I would die with you, but I can't. Because I'm a spectator, I'm only watching the sad game of time.

I'm Chrno. You may remember me from many years before, you may have known me then, but I doubt it. Even if you did, you would barely recognize me now.

I lead a normal life for the time. Nobody seems to question my 'eternal youth', mainly because I'm a detached sort of person, and for all they know I could be living dead. I get out of bed every morning, and walk outside. I walk down street after street, and in the same hour and fifteen minutes it's taken for 500 years, I reach a building. I work for the governing forces of the world. Since the aftermath of nuclear war, the world population has gone down to little more that 100,000 or so people, and it's my job to keep track of them. Every day I look at pictures and sort them, provide details on people's looks, ages, and lives. Mostly what I do is change the pictures on people's ID cards. Nowadays, you can't get by without an ID card. Mine says I'm 16, and it has for 237 years.

Back then, the world was trying to pull itself back together. Now, you could say we're looking for a sturdy foundation to rebuild society. Many things have been warped and changed. You wouldn't like what religion has become. It's mostly upheld by the teens in society, and most of religion is odd Satanist cults, often at war with each other and the world. We had an episode last year with a cult and their ritualistic burning of Identification documents. It meant overtime to me for weeks.

I still wonder if it's all worth it. I look at everyone in the world, at least once every two years, I run over every detail and sort it, and I am always forced to run over everything I do before I submit it. Most think that I'm crazy to even consider a job like this, but there are two people different.

They know what I search for, day after day after day of face after face after face. None are the same; none look at me the same way. But I've waited for 769 years and 94 days, exactly. I'm not stopping now. At least if I never succeed, I'll have the pleasure of knowing that I had nothing better to do.

You would hate that outlook, wouldn't you? God I wish you were here to tell me off, maybe give me a convincing whack upside the head.

Either way, I often get a bit of help. Az and Joshua have been working with me for a while now… well, a while to their standards. Azmaria recognized me going down her street on an odd walk, and came out to meet me. We were both pretty happy to see each other after all these years. I had spent a while looking for her previously, after my job led me to her, but I don't get contact information. The most personal information I can get that would lead me to anybody is the city they live in. Unfortunately, a good percentage of the world lives in the same one city that I live in, which can make finding someone either incredibly easy or incredibly difficult. Azmaria actually lives only several blocks from my house, and on Saturdays she walks me to work. I have Sundays off.

Joshua lives with me. I found him at an orphanage, four years ago, and took him in. What shocks me is that I didn't need any paperwork or anything. Basically, as soon as I requested it, they handed the poor, scared boy over to me. It took him only about two or three days until he started remembering me. For the first week, the memories almost traumatized him. He spent three days in his room, without food. Ever since, he's come to work with me after his required school hours. I even authorize his activities at my work as an 'educational experience', which gets him out of some of his required extracurricular activities. His instructors really like the fact that he's 'taken interest in a career so early on'. They don't know that he's just looking for his sister.

Joshua sometimes tells me about his memories. Sometimes memories of before he went to the orphanage, sometimes memories of back when he and Rosette were children at the Seventh Bell, more that 750 years ago. He says that you were at that orphanage, not so long ago. He says that you were taken away at four, but because of the way adoption works now, neither of us know who it was that took you in. I saw you only once. The orphanage has records, and the last picture of you is at age three. Seeing as there have been no pictures since, somebody must be hiding a girl. That's against the law. I hope that it's not you hiding yourself, because I want to find you. This may sound stupid, but I'm wishing for at least one bad guy, one guy I can hate with all my soul for making me wait another 12 years.

To tell you the truth, that one picture of you has stayed on my computer for as long as I've had it. It was all that it took to start me thinking of you again. I can barely sleep at all, anymore.

Joshua and I, we walk around on Sundays, just so we feel like we're doing something to find you. It'll never work, I know it, so does he. But I couldn't go a day without searching, even if it is useless.

My eyes slide open. I have no idea if I fell asleep or not. I just closed my eyes. Either way, the error message I'm getting only happens about once every three or four years. Something doesn't match.

That's odd. Most people are documented extensively for their entire lives. Either someone just appeared out of nowhere, or this person has been hidden. Hiding someone like that is, of course, illegal.

The picture smiles cheerily, mischievously, at me. Sex: F, Age: 15, Hair: Blonde, Eyes: Blue. It's perfect. My coffee, knocked off the table, splashes painfully across my feet. At this point, I'm not about to care. A finger traces across the face on the screen, and a laugh sounds through the room. It takes me a minute to realize that I'm the one laughing, and I can't stop.

I suppose just this time, I'm not going to pass this one up the ladder. I'll deal with this case on my own, and it'll pass off beautifully as Joshua's 'first experience in the field'.

I can't wait to tell him.

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I'm overflowing with creativity! … or should I say weirdness. This story is… VERY different. General concept not so much as the stupid details, but hey! I can be different sometimes too!


	2. Chapter 1

In all honesty, I started this before I started the prologue… I was just writing Rosette, then, BOOM! There was this world of the future with fewer people and it was sorta dark… and I thought 'YEAH! Now I got this whole world, and nothing to do with it! Let's write a prologue!'

And now there's a chapter one too!

Can you feel my joy?

Oh yeah, and is it utterly necessary to put a disclaimer on the stories. Being fanfiction, one would automatically assume that the characters are copyright SOMEBODY. When I write a novel and write fanfiction for it, I'll put this long ranting disclaimer and stuff… Yeah…

-0-0-0-0-0-0-THIS HAPPENS BEFORE THE PROLOGUE-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Dawn.

Many people considered dawn like new life. The sun lit the trees, the houses and the faces, and gave everything the glow of childlike joy. Fresh, you would say. To some, a fresh morning was beautiful. It brought simple pleasure and joy without materialistic gain, and smiled cheerily on even the most undeserving people. To others, it was cold. The light was blinding, and it lacked the warmth of midday. It left them rather unfulfilled.

To Rosette Christopher, dawn meant being dragged out of bed by her ankles. The same irritation she felt every morning at this time expressed itself vocally through her raspy morning voice.

"Dammit! Why do you get me up anyway! I never have anything to do around here!"

The responding harsh voice was equal or more to the rough hands yanking at her feet.

"School! Everyone your age goes to school! Why don't you?"

She yanked her legs violently from the man's grasp.

"BECAUSE," she explained, as if he were mentally retarded, "You don't want me to go."

"Yes, I do."

Rosette gave a frustrated growl. It was like this every day. EVERY DAY. This man had no idea how to take care of anyone, much less a rebellious girl going through her emotionally tumultuous teenage years. He would drag her out of bed in the morning on some ridiculous pretext, though they both knew he just liked the feeling of bossing her around.

"Since when?" she spat venomously, "I've never been to school ONCE!"

"There's a first time for everything."

If he didn't feed her dinner every night, he would have been strangled long LONG ago.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-SEVERAL HOURS LATER-0-0-0-0-0-0-

_The gruff man tipped his hat at his lady companion. "Was nothin', ma'am.", he expressed, grinning, "just my job."_

The book clapped shut as its reader looked up. The entire house was filled with the sound of hysterical laughter, something not very common to this household. Joshua gave the door an odd look, as if he could see through to the room beyond. He figured if his dear friend were going insane, he wasn't about to walk in and interfere.

"Joshua! Come here!"

Well, there went that plan. Now the boy knew. What he heard in his companion's voice was nowhere near euphoric insanity. No, the feeling there was cracking the voice with excitement, and was so joyful it made Joshua lighthearted.

He flew through the door and down the hall, stopping dead in front of the screen indicated frantically by a waving finger.

He froze for one intense moment, the same reaction given earlier to the same picture, staring at the screen like it was the meaning of life and grinning like an idiot. He stayed that way until he was hugged around the middle in joy.

"Chrno, you're crying…"

Chrno didn't respond.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

That last bit there, that was really hard to write. I mean REALLY. I was trying not to say Chrno's name until Joshua said it, so I had to be all passive and I had to talk about his body parts instead of him and… That stuff!

But yeah.

And thanks to all reviewers. I've ranted to much so far to take up space mentioning your names, but I'll try to save space next chapter! I really don't like long A/Ns, even though nobody reads them anyways.

'specially 'cus this chapter's really short…


	3. Chapter 2

Okay, now I have to clear up all that out of order stuff. Yeah. I'll do that now.

0-0-0-0-0-0-NEXT DAY- AFTER WORK-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Chrno was walking down the road, still unable to wipe the silly grin off his face. He had gotten permission quickly and easily from his superior to take this case as his own, and at the moment his foresight didn't extend past seeing Rosette for the first time in centuries.

He knew how stupid he was being, not even considering any of the problems that could arise from this meeting. All he knew, all he cared about, was that the face he would see was the face that had greeted him through his computer screen: the face of his Rosette, the girl that died prematurely in his arms, the same moment they were reunited. If he didn't know for a fact that he would see her soon, the sole thought would have left him crying again. He hadn't been one to cry at anything, until the sorrow he'd hid for centuries surfaced in her three-year-old face, only to have it torn away and hidden from him.

His fist tightened in anger, but the many ways the criminal hiding her was going to be punished was second in his list of priorities.

_Rosette…_

0-0-0-0-0-0-ELSEWHERE-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

"You're honestly sure that was a good idea?"

He spoke with all the enthusiasm of a dreary businessman, sipping his coffee almost robotically. "You never know what could happen. He seemed... really enthusiastic. I've never seen him like that, it's obviously a personal issue. You know we look down on letting people deal with things that affect them personally."

Another man, blond-haired, looking about twenty, paced the room.

"And who are you to stop him? He knows the system and procedures better than both of us combined. How many actual cases have you dealt with in your lifetime?"

The man frowned, setting the coffee mug on the table. "You have a point."

His statement was met with some silence, before the blond-haired man spoke again.

"It is odd though. The man has been nothing but professional for god knows how many years. Only something of real importance to him could make him abandon usual procedure."

"I agree. So, what should we do about it?"

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

The principal of Riverside elementary and secondary school fixed Rosette with one of his worst glares. Every day he would see every possible form of problem with his students: from brutal beatings, racism, sexism and more all the way down to refusing to eat lunch and not sharing. But this, this was new. The look the blonde girl across the desk was giving him was almost as intimidating as his own.

She had no ID. Well, the equivalent of none. She had a battered card, white with the picture of a grinning three-year-old girl in the middle, and a single green stripe running diagonally down the middle. A child's face on a old-design card. Surely this wasn't her most recent ID card! You couldn't buy a pack of gum from the corner store with that kind of ID.

And she was still indignant about her teachers refusal to let her in on the ancient card. Without saying a word, he picked up his phone. This was government business.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Short chapter, real short, but I've been stuck on this FOREVER! I need ideas, ideas, I'm having an idea competition. If you have an idea for the story, put it up, and I may use it. If I do, your name will be mentioned with much gratitude. If I don't, your name will probably still be mentioned with much gratitude for inspiring me, or just for being supportive. And if I get no reviews at all (which actually seems really likely), then I'll... possibly start a deeper plot. Possibly.


	4. Chapter 3

Cookie for RyuuMahou! To be entirely truthful, that's what I had in mind already. But, ya know what that means (aside from that I'm really predictable)? It means that YOU'RE REALLY COOL! And for girlyugi too. I shall file that one in my mind!  
And I know it's been a while. I'm bad at this stuff.  
I might just start a MAJOR plot here. Whoa!  
-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Chrno was at work. The old boring walls had a strange new excitement that he wasn't used to. In only a day, the case had evolved to beyond a picture from corner store surveillance. They'd been telephoned by the principal of some school in the area-Riverside, wasn't it?-and been told of the girl that had shown up for school without ID. As her name and face matched what they had already, the information was immediately passed on to Chrno the instant he got there, along with the task of heading over to the school to investigate the case and possibly to bestow upon the girl a new, valid, ID.  
Staring in the mirror at himself, he felt like a teenage boy going out on his first date, thinking about how to make himself look better. How could Chrno make himself look more recognizable to Rosette, who surely remembered little more of him than Joshua or Azmaria had.  
He'd already shocked his colleagues with his hair tied in a perfect braid with a yellow bow on the end, but he didn't feel like attracting the attention that his old garb would bring. Aside from that, clothes don't hold out too well after 800 years, and his old red coat was almost falling apart. Despite these setbacks, he did his best to wear mostly the same colours Rosette would remember.  
The thought didn't even cross his mind that he might want to look a bit more official. He wasn't looking forward to telling anyone that he was from the government, he was completely nervous already of telling Rosette that she was a reincarnation of his old best friend.  
Sighing he turned to leave. There wasn't really anything more he could do, without making himself look not only conspicuous but idiotic.  
As he left through the front door, a car sped by at a speed he would have found quite uncomfortable. He shot the now long gone car a dirty look. Any closer and it would have shaved his bangs off. Chrno didn't have a car, nor did he have one of those little gliders that were becoming increasingly popular. He didn't like new cars, so didn't use them. He would have used them if they made the old kind he used to always ride in, and also if they gave him someone who could total eight of them in a year and laugh it off like it was nothing. Instantly, he wasn't angry anymore. He let his thoughts drift, smiling. He hadn't even seen her yet, and it still felt like his life was consistently improving.

-0-0-0-0-SOMEWHERE FAR AWAY-0-0-0-0-0-0-

A dark figure tilted back a bottle of beer, laying a battered playing card on the table.  
"Wasn't supposed to work this way, was it"  
His partner shifted the cards around in her hand, eyes flying across all the cards, though it was obvious her mind was elsewhere.  
"Not at all, no. That demon..." she paused to toss down a card, and to fix it when it fell face down, "wasn't he dead"  
"So you're saying this is just lack of planning on your part? Or maybe the whole plan was stupid from the beginning"  
She slammed her hand angrily on the table, knocking her own bottle off the table. "Shut up! All I'm saying was that he should have shut himself up in a tomb again or something, not spent eight hundred years in the most influential organization in the world"  
This was met with a chuckle.  
"My dear, you are too naive. The only person you can trust to follow your plan is yourself, not him, not me, not even those little pawns you've brought back. Now, you've got some quick thinking to do, before that girl remembers her power, and it all goes to pieces. It's your turn, by the way"  
Snarling, she clapped anther card on the table, barely looking at what it was.  
"So, now that we've had our fun at my expense, are you planning to help me with this"  
Her companion gave a deliberately infuriating chuckle.  
"Not at all. I'm having entirely too much fun in the first place."

-0-0-0-0-0-END CHAPTER 3-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Bit short. Anyway, I'm getting more and more ideas for a real plot (despite my slowness). Unfortunately, the only solid part of the idea isn't an explanation, it's a list of things I have to explain. Well, if that makes any sense at all, ok.  
Bye for now, and sorry again for my terrible updating habits. 


	5. Chapter 4

Okie dokie. This is the hard part. Go me!yeah.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Chrno sat calmly in the waiting area, keeping a good eye on the door. He wasn't used to being this excited, and waiting like this built up the tension like nothing else could. He had almost memorized every detail of the name plate on the principal's door by now. Every time the receptionist turned her head to the left, the glare of her desk light off of her glasses added a barely visible tinge to the gold-tinted plate. Otherwise, it made about as much sense as a barcode. Shiny, shiny, dark, dull, bright, shiny, a little less shiny.  
Chrno was brought violently back to reality when a boy, looking about fifteen, burst out of the door principals door, slamming it loudly and giving it a rude hand gesture. As soon as the angry boy was out in the hall, the principal's door opened once again, only this time a bit more gently. He looked around the room, pausing for a moment on a girl on the opposite side of the waiting room reading a book, and then moving to him.  
As soon as the man's eyes fell on him, Chrno was painfully aware of how much he looked like a student. He'd neglected any formal dress, hoping more for recognition from Rosette that recognition as a government employee.  
Swiftly, before the principal of the school could say a word, Chrno stood up and put out his hand. "My name is Chrno. I've been sent to deal with a missing ID." He paused, "You are the principal of this school, are you not"  
He had to hold off laughter at the principal's bewildered face. He obviously hadn't been expecting someone who looked so young.  
"Yes. I'm awfully sorry to have kept you waiting so long, sir. Would you like to come in"  
"Yes. Thank you." As soon as he got through the door, he gave the room a quick look, finding he was the only one in it. He heard a voice coming from behind him.  
"Miss. You can come back in now"  
It took all of Chrno's self control not to beat his head on the door. The face behind the book had been Rosette's all along. He'd been sitting across from her for fifteen minutes almost, his Rosette, and he hadn't even noticed! His fist clenched tight as he barely held himself back.  
"You must be Miss Christopher," he managed, not without struggle.  
She stuck her hand out, making Chrno pause for a minute wondering what to do with it.  
"Rosette," she provided, as he shook her hand. After a small silence, she added "Have you come to take me off somewhere? Lock me up? 'Cause I'll tell you now you'll never manage it. I don't get dragged off easy"  
Chrno chuckled. She sounded exactly like the Rosette he knew.  
"Well, I am going to have to take you off somewhere, whether you're dragged or not is your own choice. All I need is a reason for your lack of ID, and some information on your background and whereabouts for the past few years"  
Rosette gave this a moment of thought.  
"You got a badge or something? Prove you're who you say you are"  
"Miss Christopher!" the principal interrupted the conversation "You've no right to say something like to-" Chrno put a hand up to stop him.  
"She has every right to. Frankly, I'm a bit surprised you didn't, sir." The principal frowned a bit, obviously not used to being outranked.  
Rosette was inspecting his card from every angle, even taking a moment to bite it like one would a gold coin. Chrno almost laughed aloud.  
"OK, you're good." She handed the card back to him, teeth marks adorning one corner. He pocketed it.  
"Good. If you don't mind, sir, I'd like to take her over to my office building, so I can get this done, and hopefully tomorrow she'll legally be able to enter class"  
"You may go, miss Christopher"  
"Rosette!" she hissed at his back as he turned, but he didn't notice.  
He offered her a hand. "Would you come with me please, Rosette"  
She took his hand tentatively.  
"You know, you're the first person that listened to me"  
"What?" he gave her a puzzled look "When I say I want to be called Rosette. You're the first person that has"  
"Oh." He hadn't even thought about it. It felt so natural to be in her presence again.  
They set off into the street, Chrno being peppered with questions about where they were going and why he had no car.  
-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-  
Woot. I'm free. It's been summer for a few days, my last exam was... well I've already forgotten what day it is!  
Anyways, here's chapter 4 to show for it. 


	6. Chapter 5

Sorry for the looooooong non-updating space. I was at camp all August and just started school and Grade 10 is fun.  
Booya.  
On we go!  
-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-  
Rosette looked around. Chrno's office building's interior decor was about as dull and officy as it was possible to be. It was almost like the white walls were closing in on her. She gave her surrounding one more uncomfortable look before turning back to stare once again and the back of Chrno's head.  
Why did he work here anyway? He didn't look much older than her. It couldn't be much of a life, with that boring a job at such a young age. Then again, Chrno acted much older than he looked. At long last, they reached a small office on the corner of the twelfth floor that Chrno apparently called his own.  
She walked in, watching him turn on his office step by step. Lights, Coffee Maker, Computer, in that order. "Not that exciting around here, is it?" Some unnamed edge of her mind associated Chrno more with excitement and adventure than coffee and paperwork.  
"I don't usually have any company"  
"You don't get bored of the decoration"  
You could almost feel the 'business' vibes as Chrno switched on his computer monitor and looked over at her.  
"I need you to tell me about yourself, and how you've managed to avoid detection for this many years"  
Rosette frowned. This was definitely not her favorite topic to talk about. She could feel nine million other things she'd love to talk to this man about in the back of her mind, and wished some would jump up so she could change the subject.  
Reluctantly, she started him into her odd life story.  
"Well, I lived with my parents and my brother until I was two. You probably know that, right?" He nodded.  
"Then, there was this accident or something, I don't really remember what it was..." She could see Chrno knew, and he was keeping it quiet for her benefit. She felt surprised about that, but grateful, because this was a very touchy subject for her.  
"So, I got put into the orphanage with my brother"  
"Joshua Christopher"  
"Yes, that's his name. I don't even know if he's still alive..." She gave Chrno a hopeful look.  
"And doing fine." He put in, urging her to continue.  
Relieved, she went on. "Well, then there was this guy. I don't know his real name. I mostly called him asshole anyway... He was a real jerk, you know? Well, he adopted me. I don't know how he did it without you guys knowing who he was, but he did. I pretty much stayed in and around the house for all those years. Then, a couple days ago, I decided I didn't want him to control me anymore, so I went to buy some stuff and the store so I could run away. But they made me show them ID, and they got really freaked when I showed them the one I had. I had to run back home before they called the police.  
Anyway, then this guy decided he wanted me to go to school. I don't know why, I think he just like making me do stuff. I went, I got into the school, and I showed them my ID again, and they got just as freaked as the store clerk. Then they told me to wait in the office. That's where you came in"  
"Okay." Chrno said, tapping something into his computer. "Can you tell me where your house is"  
"I can show you." she said, twiddling impatiently with one of his many pencils.  
"Can you draw a map of it?" he asked, pushing a blank piece of paper at her.  
With a quick 'ok' she was off, drawing little streets and labeling everything with improper spelling.  
Just as she had started, the phone rang.  
"Hello?" Chrno said, holding it to his ear.  
"Chrno, it's me, Joshua"  
"Great timing, could you come to the office? There's something I have to show you"  
"The case going well? With my sister"  
Chrno barely held himself from grinning outright. "Amazingly"  
-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-  
I feel so accomplished. AND I finished my math homework. BOOYA! 


	7. Chapter 6

I have decided that the prologue makes NO SENSE. Thank you.  
Excuse my stupidity in this one, law isn't something I'm very knowledgeable about.  
PS inspiration is coming back gradually. But GRADUALLY. I've been having LOADS of fanfiction trouble, but I think I'm doing a little better. No excuses this time.  
-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-  
"If you'll excuse me, I can't talk long. I have a guest"  
Joshua frowned into the telephone receiver.  
"A guest"  
"Yes. Could you get down here quickly, please? This won't take too long, and I want you here as fast as possible"  
"My sister"  
He could hear Chrno chuckle lightly, before the click of a phone being hung up. That was a yes, then. Joshua couldn't have been more nervous. He hoped Chrno would call Azmaria too. This sounded like a bit more that he could handle alone.  
He could barely feel the world under his feet as he walked out the door.  
-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-  
"So, Rosette, do you have any idea if what this man's done, aside from keeping you cooped up all that time, is against the law"  
She looked around the gradual increase of her paperclip tower.  
"I haven't got a clue what's law and what isn't, but if there's one against being an asshole, you can go arrest him right away"  
Chrno sighed. It was quite obvious that getting anything out of Rosette would be difficult, no matter how much she was willing to help.  
"Alright then. I'll run you through some illegal things that may be included in 'being an asshole', and you tell me if you've seen any of them. Without any solid accusations, we can't go investigate this house"  
He squinted at the map, making out "Rusel striet" scrawled across it.  
"Russel street," she clarified, seeing his confusion.  
"Ah. Thank you. Now, if I could just get you to-" he was cut off by a knock at the door.  
"I bet that's you're guest. You know, the one you were talking on the phone to? I can leave for a while if you have to talk to the guy alone." She slid a sharpened pencil through the topmost paperclip of the tower.  
"It's alright. In fact, it would be best if you stayed right here. By the way, that architecture is looking brilliant"  
"Wha-?" She paused, before looking over at the structure perched on his desk.  
"OH! Bet you just wish you could build a tower like this one out of just paperclips"  
Chrno reached over, grabbing the doorknob and pulling the door wide open.  
"Good to see you, Joshua"  
-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-  
Joshua stood outside the door, hand still up and fisted though he had knocked already. He could hear everything going on inside. He could hear Chrno's voice having a cheerful conversation with a voice he remembered only in hazy memories from a life long past. While he couldn't make out exactly what was being said, he could tell that Chrno was happier that he'd ever been before.  
It felt like his only defense was being ripped away from him as the door opened wide. What would Rosette think? I mean, it was hardly normal to just show up and say "Hi, I'm your brother" and expect that to be accepted and life to go on as normal. Once the door was open, Joshua held his breath. Rosette didn't appear to recognize him. Unfortunately, the calm of the moment was shattered once Chrno spoke.  
"Good to see you, Joshua"  
It took a second. Joshua could see Rosette twiddle a little with something she seemed to be making out of paperclips, freeze, then turn slowly around.  
"Joshua?" she whispered.  
"Hi. Rosette." he offered, quietly and hesitantly.  
"Joshua!" Just as subtly as usual, Rosette leapt from her seat and caught the boy in a huge bear hug.  
"Joshua! I never thought I'd see you again! Is it really you? What happened"  
Joshua laughed. It felt like he was spitting out all of the apprehension he'd felt just by laughing, making him so light he was practically flying with every breath he took.  
Still high on life, he plunked down into one of Chrno's office chairs. Rosette, ever so subtly, sat right on him, knocking the breath from his body, making him laugh even more.  
It was obvious that Rosette was about to make him run through his life story from when she left the orphanage at two years old, but right as she was about to start, she paused, looking over at Chrno.  
"Hey, you," she said, grinning.  
"Me?" Chrno offered, vaguely surprised.  
"You, get over here. You're part of this too"  
He gave the two of them a warm smile. "So, you're going to let me in on your reunion"  
Rosette stood up. "One sec," she told Joshua, and walked over to Chrno.  
"Thanks a lot." She kissed him on the cheek.  
"For giving me my little brother back"  
"Your welcome" he said, the tips of his ears turning red as he tried with some difficulty to ignore Joshua winking at him suggestively.  
As soon as Rosette turned around to walk back over to Joshua, Chrno made a face at him. Rosette didn't notice.  
Quite a bit of time was spent with Joshua describing the details of his life with Chrno to Rosette, and Chrno adding in all the embarrassing bits of his earlier childhood.  
It was universally agreed that Rosette would come and stay with Chrno and Joshua, and secretly agreed between the last two that Joshua would fill her in on the details of their life long past, and hope she remembered it.  
Chrno didn't know what he would do if she didn't.  
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Done. Oh man that was tough. 


	8. Chapter 7

Ackpth! I'm trying, TRYING. Arrrghhhh... It's so haaardddd... Oh well... Anyway, this chapter focuses ENTIRELY on Chrno and Rosette. NOBODY ELSE. Don't kill me... Then again, you may like that... Right?

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Rosette frowned and glanced at the clock. It was three in the morning, just late enough to be morning, making it hard to go back to sleep, and just early enough that it was still pitch black and a long while before the world got up. Three in the morning was about the worst time you could imagine to wake up, which is why most people didn't.  
Rosette, however, had had one of those dreams that you just can't sleep after, and you're left watching the sun rise. She could remember only bits of it, most of it had been jarred from her mind in the rude awakening. A few words lingered in her mind, echoing repeatedly.  
'Pick up the gun.' "What gun"  
'You know, the old one? The one you used to have?' "I never had a gun"  
'You did. Remember?' An image flashed across Rosette's mind. "Yes"  
'Point it.' "At what"  
'Alright, good.' "Wait"  
'Now,' "I don't know what you're talking about"  
'Fire'  
Rosette shook from the sensation she could still feel, even though she was now fully concious. Deciding that there was no chance she could go back to sleep, she began to feel her way around the room. It didn't take her long to remember that she was not at the same house where she had lived for most of her life. She was in Chrno's house. The feeling was both reassuring and uncomfortable at the same time. When she had reached the hall, she noticed a light from the other end. Walking into the room Chrno kept all his work-related things in, she saw him sitting and typing at his computer. He hadn't noticed her, and appeared to be very absorbed in his work, so she tiptoed up quietly behind him.  
He jumped at the hand laid on his shoulder, and whipped around quickly.  
"What are you doing still up?" Rosette said, before Chrno could manage something to the equivalent.  
"I could say the same for you." he told her.  
"Had a funny dream." she replied simply, plopping herself down in the extra chair by his desk.  
Chrno turned his chair facing towards her instead of the screen. "Might just be discomfort. You are in a new house, after all"  
She had by then started doodling on a piece of scrap paper she found on the desk.  
"You were in my dream too, you know." Chrno was still watching her pencil, as the drawing began taking shape.  
"Except you were bigger," she stopped drawing for a few seconds to demonstrate with her hands, "and you had horns"  
She went back to drawing before pausing and looking up at him. "Don't take that personally. I'm not trying to call you a demon or anything. They were pretty cool horns"  
Chrno was still staring at her drawing, which had been put aside in favour of trying to get Chrno's attention.  
"Heeeeyyy," she called, "Are you paying any attention to me"  
He laid a finger on the paper she'd been using. "Where did you see this before"  
Rosette looked down "That? It's supposed to be a gun... I'm not so good at drawing, actually. I saw it in the dream. The one I was talking about, you know"  
"Yes, I do"  
Rosette was very confused. Chrno hadn't seemed this serious yet in the time she'd known him. Not long, she knew, but nonetheless it struck her as strange. After a few seconds, he breathed a sigh.  
"Rosette, there's something I want to show you"  
This visibly caught her attention, and she waited for him to go on.  
"It will probably overwhelm you now, but it would probably be worse if I waited. I'm really not sure though..."  
He trailed off, dropping his head into his hands, before Rosette's eager voice broke in.  
"I don't know what it is, but I can take it! If it's gross, well, I'm not grossed out easily, and if it's scary then I'm good with that too! Just lemme see it!"  
He smiled into his palms.  
"Alright. I'll go bit by bit though." She was busily into several inarticulate expressions of triumph when she realized Chrno wasn't getting up.  
"Where is it?" she asked. Then, she noticed something he had in his hand, that he'd evidently just taken from his desk drawer.  
She reached for it curiously.  
Chrno cringed as she suddenly drew back as if she'd been shocked. He remembered Joshua's reaction all too clearly, and was hoping for a better result from Rosette. Hand slightly shaking, she snatched at the object she was beginning to recognize.  
The cold metal of her gun fit perfectly into the same place of her hand she knew it had been countless times. She brought it up until she was staring straight down it, at some unfortunate spot on the wall. But Rosette didn't know what she was aiming at. What she saw was countless demons, enemies, terrible creatures that honestly and truly existed... or HAD existed. What she felt like wasn't Rosette Christopher who had been recently found by a government worker and was staying with him just for kicks, it was Rosette Christopher, elite demon hunter, nearly famous, confident and powerful, but dying, dying, dead.  
She dropped the gun.  
She felt like Rosette Christopher, demon hunter, recently found by a government worker, reunited with her best friend for days already without even noticing.  
She didn't know what to do, She didn't know what to think about this, but most of all she had no idea what she would say to Chrno now. How must he feel? He had found her after so long and she hadn't even recognized him!  
She felt so guilty now. What could she do to gain his forgiveness for this? There was nothing she could do.  
She dropped her head into her shaking hands and cried.

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DONE. Myahahahahahaha! Er... don't kill me. Shortish again.


End file.
